Film Review: The End
by Rose Finlay

Joshua Oppenheimer, Denmark, Ireland, Germany, Italy, UK, USA, Sweden 2024

At the 2024 Filmfest Hamburg, Joshua Oppenheimer was one of the filmmakers highlighted in the section Contemporary Film in Focus (Gegenwartskino im Fokus). He is known for his award-winning documentary feature THE ACT OF KILLING (2013) and its sequel, THE LOOK OF SILENCE (2014) which focus on societal impact in the aftermath of the mass killings in Indonesia in the ‘60s. Due to his work on the topic, Oppenheimer is no longer safely able to travel to Indonesia, which put an end to his hopes to make a third film on the topic. Instead, he chose to pivot away from documentaries and make his first fictional feature film, THE END.

In Oppenheimer’s own words, THE END is a story “…about the uniquely human ability to lie to ourselves.” Following the collapse of humanity, six people are surviving in a salt mine, where they have built a facsimile of an opulent home. There is a butler, a doctor, a friend/maid, mother, father, and adult son. They have lived in relative peace in this environment for years, surrounded by some of the world’s most respected artworks, while just outside the walls there is the stark, cold, white surroundings of the salt mine. Their carefully crafted reality is soon shaken when an outsider is found in the mine. Soon all sorts of secrets begin to emerge. Will the group be able to continue to co-exist or will their lies, both external and internal, tear them apart?

THE END is certainly an odd piece of cinema. It some of the most impactful and stunning cinematography, sound design, and lighting of any film made this year. Similarly, the acting of Michael Shannon, Tilda Swinton, and George MacKay are all a masterclass. However, the choice to make the film a musical, while original and at times very effective (particularly one scene where George MacKay is dancing through a salt mine comes to mind), in general it seemed to take away from the dramatic energy rather than expound upon it. The particular weakness was in the text of the songs, which often felt too simplistic and repetitive for the complex emotions of the scenes. However, despite its failings, at a time when it sometimes feels like it is difficult to find truly original cinema both in concept and execution, THE END is like a breath of fresh air. It is certainly a film that will stick with audiences long after watching and begs the question of what we would be willing to sacrifice for our own personal comforts.